Prices of 15 Essential Commodities Rise in Pakistan During the Week

ISLAMABAD: Prices of 15 essential commodities increased across the country during the latest week, while 12 items became cheaper and the prices of 24 commodities remained unchanged, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The latest weekly inflation report issued by the PBS showed that the pace of inflation declined by 0.35 per cent during the week. On an annual basis, the rate of inflation also slowed to 11.32 per cent.

According to the report, tomato prices recorded the highest increase, rising by 34.91 per cent during the week. Potato prices increased by 3.27 per cent, diesel by 2.53 per cent, gram pulse by 2.11 per cent and plain bread by 1.29 per cent.

The prices of onions increased by 0.62 per cent, yogurt by 0.46 per cent, milk by 0.48 per cent, vegetable ghee by 0.29 per cent and firewood by 0.20 per cent.

Among the commodities that became cheaper, sugar prices declined by 0.35 per cent, chicken by 2.95 per cent, eggs by 2.81 per cent, masoor pulse by 0.43 per cent and milk powder by 0.33 per cent.

The prices of LPG decreased by 0.73 per cent, petrol by 0.39 per cent, flour by 0.83 per cent and bananas by 0.71 per cent during the week.

The PBS data further showed a decline in annual inflation rates across all income groups, as measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI).

For households earning up to Rs17,732 per month, the annual inflation rate declined by 0.07 per cent to 8.07 per cent.

For the income group earning between Rs17,733 and Rs22,888 per month, inflation decreased by 0.25 per cent to 9.92 per cent. For those earning between Rs22,889 and Rs29,517, the rate fell by 0.20 per cent to 8.95 per cent.

Similarly, annual inflation for households earning between Rs29,518 and Rs44,175 per month declined by 0.22 per cent to 9.51 per cent.

For the highest income group, earning more than Rs44,176 per month, the inflation rate decreased by 0.41 per cent to 12.13 per cent.

The report indicates that although the overall pace of inflation eased during the week, consumers continued to face higher prices for several essential food items and household commodities.